Pray. Then, Practice

I’m always wary of people who pray “[God], give me (xyz virtue: patience, love, strength, etc.)”. I’m not sure that it is clear that God (or whatever you call Him) is not a magician. That is not to say that He is not capable of granting us anything we truly desire; after all, He is God. He can do whatever He wishes. The thing is, none of us is going to wake up one morning to find ourselves fully perfected. The day that happens is, quite honestly, the day we cease to exist on this plane. We are blessed with days on this earth to practice those things which we sincerely desire for ourselves in order to find that perfection which we seek.

In other words, you’re not going to wake up tomorrow, having prayed “God give me patience”, to find that you are now a completely patient creature (hallelujah, wouldn’t that be awesome?!).

 

Pray for patience.

Then, practice patience.

 

Pray for love.

Then practice love.

 

Pray for understanding.

Then practice understanding.

 

Pray.

Then, practice.

 

Set your thoughts into motion in the direction in which you want yourself to go. Then, set your actions in the same direction. When your thoughts, words and actions are in alignment, miraculous things happen. Once we pray for things like this, the universe opens a way to bring us exactly what we asked for. There will be several opportunities on a daily basis to give us the ability to practice and achieve what we set our minds to. We just need the vision to see it and the strength of will and obedience to follow through.

 

Will we fail sometimes? Yes, and that’s okay!!!

 

Acquiring any new skill is going to take time. Think of it like learning to play the guitar. At first it will be slow, demanding, maybe even a little painful to feel. It will sound awful, dreadful even. But the more you practice, the easier it becomes. and one day you will find that you are the very thing you once wished you were.

Find out what your soul needs. Heed the call. Answer.

Pray, then practice.

A Heart To Serve

                            

“Therefore, go and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and Holy Spirit. Teach these new disciples to obey all the commands I have given you. And be sure of this: I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” (Matthew 28:19-20, NIV)

These are the last words of Jesus as recorded by Matthew. It was his Great Commission to us, our work, as destined by the Father, to be done on earth. The groundwork had been laid; the package had been signed, sealed and delivered. Jesus had accomplished what he was sent to earth to do. Now, it was up to the disciples and to us…

Jesus left us the greatest example of what it meant to have the heart of a servant. He got involved in the lives of the people around him and ministered to them with compassion. So many times we get so caught up in our personal needs and wants that we forget that there are people in our midst who could benefit from what we have to offer. You might be saying- “Who me? I’m just trying to make it right now. I need to focus on getting a job!” The point is, even in job search, there comes a time when it is necessary to slow down and focus on others instead of being absorbed by our own needs.

Hands and Hearts Ready To Serve

God’s commission to us does not have any limits on time or qualification. He doesn’t say- “when you finish school” or “when you find that job” or “after your kids are gone to college” or “after you get a house”. The command is:

“Therefore, go…”

…now that you have seen what I have done, and you can witness to what I have said,

“Therefore, go…”

go now…

”and be sure that I am with you always…”

We can be assured, when we are busy doing what God has called us to do, He will always do His part in making sure we are taken care of. Believe that God is powerful enough to handle the details of our lives, like the fact that we have bills to pay and that we need a job, and that we want to save up enough money to achieve our personal goals. The truth is, He placed us here on earth to be of service to His kingdom; to be His eyes and ears, feet and hands, his heart, especially at a time when He sometimes seems so invisible.